Planning for liquid water or oil cooled Dell R710 rack server

[AntiHawk]

I'm planning to make one of my R710 servers (2 Xenon CPUs ~82GB RAM) silent to be used at home I have 3 of these with similar specs laying around.

I have just started planning for this and thought of sharing this idea.

I also have full metal workshop available to my use so making own CPU cooling plates or welding is not a problem but I'm also looking for a quick solution rather than overengineered one.

 

Option 1:

- AOI cooling CPUs

- Extra heat sinks for motherboad ICs

- Removal of all onboard fans (5 very loud main fans)

- PWM to feedback module for tricking motherboard that original fans are still present and speed reference to AOI cooler fans

- Replace PSU fans with something more quiet (Dual 750w hotplug PSUs)

 

Option 2a:

- Build enclosure around the server and fit whole server in it (removes all hard disks)

- Boot from SD card

- Fill with mineral oil

- Basic radiator loop for cooling (use internal fans, PSU fans and extra pump to push oil around the loop and radiator)

- May cause the server fail to boot as fan speed checks will not pass (maybe overrideable or use PWM to feedback module trick)

 

Option 2b:

- Weld shut the lower R710 case

- Leave separate oil free compartment for hard disks

- Add extra "depth" to to the server by welding extra compartment to the back of the server (will be part of the main compartment)

- Fill with mineral oil

- Seal service and top panels to the lower case

- Basic radiator loop for cooling (use internal fans and PSU fans to push oil around the loop and radiator)

- May cause the server fail to boot as fan speed checks will not pass (maybe overrideable or use PWM to feedback module trick)

 

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Considerations:

 

Option 1:

- retains ability to service all parts

- might be still too loud

 

Option 2 a and b:

- will be messy to service

- might be very cool when completed

 

Option 2b:

- hard disks probably need additional cooling

 

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Oh yeah there is more:

 

I might end up with very polished setup that I put next to my computer table or attach it under it.

OR

I might make a extra fire safe enclosure, buy a new sofa that fits the specs to my balcony and fit the whole oil or water cooled server under the seats

 

[Olaf6541]

I would suggest putting waterblocks on your components and put a pump/res + radiators somwhere outside the case. If you fill the server with mineral oil heat is not transported away very effective. And I don't think AIO coolers will fit so youll have to mount the radiators outside the case anyway. So maybe you could make a nice frame on top of the case to hold the pump/res + radiators.

[britrb]

Sorry for the zombification of this thread! Just wondering if you got anywhere with this project. I am genuinely interested as the Dell R710 is a great home lab starter, and I'm getting one soon. I'm already thinking about liquid cooling, adding GPU's and extra SSD options. There are loads of options out there.

 

I'd go for Option 1(a)! Custom dual loop for the CPU's using Alphacool's pump/radiator solutions, a pair of 1366 water blocks, and Noctua drop in server fans. You could also cut a hole in the top cover and add in a mesh 'window.'

 

Good luck,

Brian :)